NONSENSE FROM THE BIBLE (13 page)

KNOW GOD - NO PEACE

NO GOD - KNOW PEACE

BIBLE NONSENSE NUMBER 7

Now we come to some amazing and ridiculous events which, according to the Bible, actually occurred! There are many more but here are a few of the well know stories.

1. THE NOAH’S ARK STORY

This is a ‘story’ but it is not simply a story for children to play with a model boat and a collection of animals. There’s no harm in that, but in truth if this is a record of an actual event which took place a few thousand years ago, it reveals an unforgiving, merciless and evil God! Fortunately it is only a ‘story’ as there is absolutely no evidence that this actually happened. Yes, there were vastly extensive floods during the evolution of the world, and others recorded in human history. But none were of such devastating inundation as we’re expected to believe of the Bible story.

Genesis 6:1-3

And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also
is flesh:
yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 

It seems that men and women were enjoying life and were multiplying in number and for some unknown reason God was taking exception to this. He decided to restrict their life time - to one hundred and twenty years!

Then we’re told that something amazing had happened:

Genesis 6:4-6 

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
. And
it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart
. 

God decided he had made a
mistake
by making human beings. First of all there were giants on the earth - where did they come from? He didn’t like the idea that the people were having sex which produced children. What? God saw great wickedness, but didn’t give any details; just talked about imagination and thoughts. Finally this was enough for God and He decided he would kill everyone - men, women, children - young and the elderly - they all had to go! Well, apart from one family - lucky old Noah and his family were going to be saved!

God then instructs this man Noah who was, according to the Bible, already over  500 years old, to build a huge ship, an ark, large enough to take two of every creature on the earth.

Genesis 6:14 -17 

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of:
The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
And,
behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 

God told Noah to take two of every living thing into the ark and take food for his family and for all the animals. 

Genesis 6:18-22

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
And
take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and 
thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them
. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

In the very next chapter there is a change of instructions concerning the numbers of animals and birds to be taken on board - depending whether they were ‘clean’ or not! Now it appears there are to be seven of all the so called ‘clean’ animals and birds and just two of each of the ‘unclean.’

Genesis 7:2-3 

Of
every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two
, the male and his female.
Of fowls also of the air by sevens,
the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 

Whether it was two of each or seven of each, plus food for them all and for Noah and his family, it would be an amazing cargo for a ship as described in the Bible, namely, 300 cubits long, 50 wide and 30 high. Chambers Dictionary defines a cubit as 46 to 56cm (18 to 22 inches), so Noah’s ark would have been about 137m (450 ft) long x 23m (75ft) wide x 14m (45ft) high - at least. This amounts to a massive ship in Noah’s time and a far greater project than a few humans could have undertaken some 6,000 years ago.  

Obviously, two or seven of every species of living creatures plus sufficient food and fresh water would not fit into the ark. 

According to:  
ScienceDaily (Aug 23, 2011) 

The estimated total number of species on Earth - the most precise calculation ever offered - with 6.5 million species found on land and 2.2 million dwelling in the ocean depths.

We haven’t even considered the possibility of the dinosaurs but the reason the Bible story does not include dinosaurs is because their earlier existence was totally unknown at that time as they inhabited the earth some 230 million years ago - but according to the Bible the earth is only 6,000 years old.

There is also no mention or provision for the plant life on the earth. A global deluge lasting for more than a year would surely destroy much, if not all of the vegetation on the planet. 

Before the voyage and after the construction of the ark, Noah and his family would have to spend a number of years finding two or seven - 
of every living thing of all flesh,
 - this would require a global expedition to seek, capture, feed and transport them to the ark.

The logistics of the entire operation would have been impossible for Noah and his family to organise and maintain for the period of time the ark would be isolated from the natural world. To provide not only safe accommodation for two or more of every species on board and extra animals as food for the human beings, but also to supply huge amounts of food and fresh water for every living being and creature on board, would have been impossible. Any fresh fruit and vegetables which had survived the rising waters would have lasted for just a few days. Noah did not have hydroponic technology available to him and the deck or roof could not be used to grow fruit or vegetables. The Bible tells us everyone was shut inside the ark, with only one window and there was no mention of any ventilation. They could not catch fish as they were completely sealed inside the ark. Dealing with the human and animal waste would have been a massive task. During the voyage, it is reasonable to assume that disease and death of many of the collected animals would have depleted the numbers and that many species would therefore have been lost forever. This was not just a 10-day cruise; the Bible story tells us that the ark was closed up for about 12 months! The deluge lasted for 40 days and nights and the water remained for 150 days and then it took another 150 days for the water to recede. 

According to the Bible the entire earth was covered with water. Imagine, the water was then higher than the peak of the highest mountain on the earth, Mt. Everest, which is 8.9 kilometres above sea level! Are we seriously expected to believe that the entire surface of the planet was covered with water to a depth of almost ten kilometres? So where did all the water go? 

Genesis 7: 5-6

And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 

The ark rested on Mt Ararat supposedly, for 40 days and then God told Noah to go out from the ark and populate the earth once more.

Genesis 8: 13

And it came to pass
in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry
. 

No archaeological evidence has ever been found to support this obviously imagined story. Contemporary Christian writers separated by about 6,000 years from this Biblical event have attempted to continue the myth with several books claiming that parts of the original ark have been discovered under the ice on Mount Ararat. So far no factual, archaeological or scientific evidence has ever been produced to validate their assertions. 

How can we accept this amazing event as anything more than fantasy and the imagination of primitive minds?  If we are to believe the story we must also accept that our heavenly Father again unleashed his killer instinct and destroyed the entire human race and animal kingdom on earth at that time except Noah, his family and two or seven of each species of the land and air. Noah and his family were apparently the only people on earth according to God who were without sin. 

The entire story is nonsense!

2. THE RAINBOW STORY

Following the end of this flood God gives Noah a sign that there would never again be another flooding of the entire earth.

Genesis 9:12-15

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:  
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh
. 

God placed a rainbow in the sky!  Wow! – This was the sign God gave to Noah that he would not destroy life on the planet by a flood ever again. But, as Chambers Dictionary
*26
explains, rainbows appear only in mist or rain. So it also means that before God’s special rainbow signal to Noah, rain had never before fallen on earth. Clearly that was impossible. So this biblical story of the origin of the rainbow is obviously another example of human imagination.

More Bible nonsense!

THE RAINBOW IS NOT A MIRACLE 

BUT SIMPLY A NATURAL EVENT!

While we are considering the rainbow story, there is another amazing celestial event recorded in the Bible which could never have happened:

3. THE SUN AND THE MOON STOOD STILL

The Prophet Joshua ordered the sun and the moon to stand still for a whole day!

Joshua 10:12-14 

Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.
Is not this written in the book of Jasher?
So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man:
for the LORD fought for Israel. 

Here is yet another incredible story presented in the Bible and believed to be actual fact by gullible believers of every denominational persuasion.

4. THE STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL

Another chapter in the book of Genesis tells the story of the Tower of Babel. The people on the earth at this time, according to the Bible, were the descendants of Noah and they all spoke one language. I, as have many others, often thought how much better it would be for everyone if we all spoke the same language. No doubt there would still be differences of opinion and problems between the various nations and ethnic groups but at least communication would be so much better. Many misunderstandings would be eliminated and peace would be more prevalent among the peoples of the earth. Most intelligent people would agree but then what does God say?

The Bible story continues:

Genesis 11:1-9 

And
the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech
. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth
. 
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city
. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.